# John Middlekauff: Middlekauff leaned Jacksonville over Buffalo, expected the Rams to beat Carolina, picked Miami over Ole Miss and Indiana over Oregon, and said Fernando Mendoza is a no-brainer No. 1 overall pick who the Raiders will draft first. **Claimed:** Jan 5, 2026 **Pundit:** John Middlekauff — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/pundits/john-middlekauff **Outlet:** The Colin Cowherd Podcast (podcast) — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/outlets/the-colin-cowherd-podcast-podcast **How it reached us:** said on air or in an interview **Original:** https://omny.fm/shows/the-colin-cowherd-podcast/week-18-games-were-awful-nfl-playoff-preview-college-football-playoff-predictions 3 checkable claims — 2 game outcome picks and 1 mock draft pick — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing bet. It names 4 players and teams, each linked to their own record. All 3 have settled, averaging 66.7 out of 100, against 16.7 for a naive guess at the same calls. > But just based on the way they're playing, it'd be hard to go against the Jags. *(their words, quoted for attribution)* ## The claims - **Los Angeles Rams to beat Carolina** - Kind: Game Outcome Picks · About: Los Angeles Rams - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 0 for a naive guess - **Jacksonville Jaguars to beat Bills** - Kind: Game Outcome Picks · About: Jacksonville Jaguars - Verdict: scored 0 out of 100, against 0 for a naive guess - **Fernando Mendoza to be picked at number 1** - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: Fernando Mendoza, Las Vegas Raiders - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 50 for a naive guess ## Who this take is about - Los Angeles Rams — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/teams/rams - Jacksonville Jaguars — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/teams/jaguars - Fernando Mendoza — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/players/fernando-mendoza - Las Vegas Raiders — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/teams/raiders ## What others said about the same people - Nick Wright on Jacksonville Jaguars: Amid a slate of against-the-spread picks, Wright makes a few outright calls: Jacksonville beats Denver straight up, Carolina wins at Atlanta, and he reiterates that he picked Denver to make the playoffs despite his concerns after their Week 1 loss. He also expects Ladd McConkie to sit out the Chargers' game. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/0290838b-8539-4133-bb24-a8c3a617bbd3 (scored 0) - Carter Bahns on Jacksonville Jaguars: He picks Jacksonville to win in Denver, arguing the market still undervalues the Jaguars and that the Broncos' offense under new play-caller Davis Webb won't score enough to keep pace. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/9f1b6765-6f6f-4600-95a2-8ca2115edda6 (scored 50) - Nick Wright on Jacksonville Jaguars: Amid his Week 2 spread picks, Wright made a few straight-up calls: Jacksonville wins outright at Denver, Carolina wins at Atlanta, and he'd be stunned if Kansas City lost to Indianapolis. He also expected Zay Flowers and Ladd McConkie to sit out with injuries. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/2cdeee40-89bf-46f1-b5a1-1a2511dc01cd (scored 0) - Danny Parkins on Jacksonville Jaguars: Parkins picked the Giants to beat the Rams outright, backed Jacksonville over Denver, Cincinnati over Houston and Chicago over Minnesota in the chips segment, endorsed Buffalo as the AFC's Super Bowl representative, and predicted Deshaun Watson has started his last NFL game. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/36d4ede8-3066-4102-abbc-cb08e4544c92 (scored 0) - Nick Wright on Jacksonville Jaguars: Wright stuck by his preseason call of a 12-5 Bills team that wins its division, picked the Jaguars to beat Denver outright, leaned Texans over Cincinnati, still has Atlanta as his deep sleeper, counts New England among his 14 playoff teams, and recalled pegging Washington for a 5-12 or 6-11 year with a bottom-six defense. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/d9357a30-3f1d-4be4-8ce6-529f21f9aeac (scored 0) - Chris Broussard on Jacksonville Jaguars: Brew stood by the Lions as division winners and playoff team, picked the Texans over Cincinnati, the Bears over Minnesota, the Patriots to beat Pittsburgh with a solid Drake Maye game, flagged Jacksonville over Denver as his upset alert, and said he still feels good about the Ravens winning the AFC. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/a54915e0-49e6-427b-a7a5-4feb5d0f3cbb (scored 0) ## More game outcome picks The same kind of call, about other players and teams. - Michael Hanich on Seattle Seahawks: Hanich argues the Week 2 road game at Arizona is not a true trap game, citing Seattle's long winning streak in the series, Mike Macdonald's preparation and injuries in the Cardinals' secondary, and rates his confidence in the Seahawks at 7. He also suggests safety Nick Emmanwori may miss a second straight game. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/735e7874-81a3-4bde-8c8f-d718cadf6e33 (scored 100) - Seth Walder on Carolina Panthers: Picks the Panthers to beat the Falcons in Atlanta. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/61d68b2a-468b-44a5-b949-a6b152bbafc0 (scored 100) - Eric Moody on Carolina Panthers: Picks the Panthers to beat the Falcons in Atlanta. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/8781a68b-56d0-4cd0-bf58-b7791e174082 (scored 100) - Pamela Maldonado on Carolina Panthers: Picks the Panthers to beat the Falcons in Atlanta. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/738530b5-6f35-4dc3-95f4-716358983f8a (scored 100) - Nick Wright on Carolina Panthers: Amid a slate of against-the-spread picks, Wright makes a few outright calls: Jacksonville beats Denver straight up, Carolina wins at Atlanta, and he reiterates that he picked Denver to make the playoffs despite his concerns after their Week 1 loss. He also expects Ladd McConkie to sit out the Chargers' game. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/0290838b-8539-4133-bb24-a8c3a617bbd3 (scored 100) - Jeff Kerr on Philadelphia Eagles: Kerr frames the Week 2 trip to Nashville as a game Philadelphia should win, moving the Eagles to 2-0 before a tougher stretch against the Bears and Rams. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/90fdbe23-0880-4177-a75c-2784aeecf209 (scored 100) --- Accuracy is 0-100 against what actually happened. The naive guess is what a strategy requiring no knowledge would have scored on the same call — the difference is the skill, and it is what the MissedTakes Score averages. Full method: https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/methodology We summarize what a pundit said and quote a short span for attribution; we never republish their article. If this is wrong, tell us: https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/corrections?pundit=john-middlekauff